Author Topic: kx 250 head angle  (Read 4174 times)

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Offline KXDINO

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kx 250 head angle
« on: June 15, 2016, 07:21:54 PM »
i see they had a kx250 06 model that had a heap of work done to it including fitting a kx450 08 forks and clamps to try to make it handle better , they still did not like it , thats motocross action . the only way to fix these bikes is to slacken the head angle either by offset bearing or by grinding , pulling it out half a degree and welding it all back together , a days work .

Offline treedodgingfool

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Re: kx 250 head angle
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2016, 06:10:36 AM »
Exactly! We have an '07, same issue.  I purchased the bike new in '07 & saved it until the 2010 race season when I finally set the bike up, much like my '03 & '04's are. Like my favorite "M" models, I swapped my internally 1" lowered suspension on to the '07, ran 15mm above the upper clamps on the fork tubes and the standard 3.75" sag out back. I never noticed the handling issue as much in the rocks, but in Southern NJ, especially in what we call "waltzing tight" (tree littered trail just open enough & enough rhythm to clip through in 3rd gear or so), no matter how I adjusted the suspension settings, I'd get this knife & wash sensation that eventually caused me some wicked higher speed crashes and lost confidence over time. I ran the bike the whole season but I didn't figure this out until the end of the season. I had no time while racing to really address it, so I forsaken it & handed it off to my husband to deal with in place for my favorite old '04 (which I'm still racing now off-road).

Now he found a few bandaids to help alleviate the steep steering head angle short of welding which is the best way (which is the next thing we're doing to it) & has gotten it to work pretty well for himself, even coming to terms with it, though I'm still gun shy of it (concussions will do that to a person).  He dropped the forks a few millimeters in the clamps until he found a happy middle ground and dialed in a hair more sag then we usually run. That dang bike has the steering handle angle of a trials bike, lol!
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Offline umberto

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Re: kx 250 head angle
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2016, 08:04:52 AM »
I found a really nice 07 when I got back into riding with my son.  It was a fun bike to ride in open terrain like a fire road, it just drove you nuts in the woods.  I had a few unpleasant encounters with a tree because the dang thing stood up instead of turning.  I bought my 04 as a flip, but once I rode it I couldn't get back on the 07.  I ended up selling it instead.

That bike in MXA is a really nice looking bike, with the black and green color scheme, but I like the 2004 "Green Goblin" in Dirt Bike this month a lot better.  It's kind of the direction (cross country) I'm going with mine.  Of course the writers raved about the finished product.

Just out of curiosity, what is the rake angle on the 07 versus the 04 Dino?
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03 KX 250/88 KX 525/2017 KX250F - Goliath
17 KX250F/04 KX250
04 KX 250 - Lunchbox's Bike
05 KX 125/144

Offline treedodgingfool

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Re: kx 250 head angle
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2016, 08:31:26 AM »
I have the specs at home (saved all the OEM dealer updates from when I was selling them new). I'll look it up, but 26 degrees keeps coming to mind. I know the '04 has a steeper angle then the '03 due to the swingarm/linkage change (longer on the '04).
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Offline KXDINO

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Re: kx 250 head angle
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2016, 11:25:38 AM »
05 to 08 kx250 had 26 degrees and 04 had 27 degrees , i went for the middle 26.5 degrees on the angle change and than i lengthen the dog leg , dont lengthen the dog leg by more than 3mm as the rear tyre starts hitting the fender , had no more trouble with the handling on this bike , it made a difference in a good way.